Rock and Roll Dallas 1/2 Marathon Race Report
This was my first Rock and Roll event. Lots of hype. Some earned, some not.
My mom went with me again. I think she’s starting to like our little “destination races” as it’s usually just me and her. We got up early on Saturday morning and headed up to Dallas for the expo and packet pickup. Even with a few stops along the way, we made it from Kingwood to downtown Dallas in about 4 hours. Pretty good for us. Usually, yes, I drive a bit fast, but I’ve been stopped south of Dallas and it was a $212 ticket (even though the radar caught the black car that went around me and the cop saw my fire engine red car…oh well), so I wasn’t taking any chances.
Went to the expo and straight to packet pick up. They had them separated into corral numbers. I was in corral 15. We were the last corral, but our numbers went up into the 22000’s. Got my bib and instructions, went and got my t-shirt, then wandered around the expo a little. Didn’t see much we just had to look at, so we left, checked out where the parking for the next day would be, grabbed some lunch (pasta of course!) at a great little hole-in-the-wall Italian place. It was so good, we got take out orders for supper, too! After lunch, we went and checked into the hotel.
Sunday morning, we got up, checked the weather - it was waaaay cooler and windier than it was supposed to be! - grabbed a quick bite of breakfast and headed to the race. The starting line and the finishing line were miles apart, so they recommended we park at the finish and take the shuttle to the start. There would be no shuttle back to the finish for the spectators, so we opted for my mom to stay at the finish line. I didn’t want her walking back to the finish line through downtown Dallas several miles alone. So, I rode the shuttle over to the start. At the starting line village they had tables lined up with Cytomax, bagels, water, bananas, and who knows what else. I grabbed some munchy stuff and tried to get out of the wind. Found some other girls in my corral and we chatted some. Couple of trips to the port-a-potties, some stretching, and then, about 7:40ish I wandered back to my corral.
The elite runners started at 8am. They did a wave start, and we finally passed the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader’s and crossed the starting line at 8:30.
A couple of miles in I met a couple of ladies who were walking, but they were walking almost as fast as I was running! We struck up and conversation and I ended up going the rest of the way with them. It was a nice way to pass the miles. They were funnier than all get out and it was way better than talking to myself!
The map showed a band at least every mile. Apparently the Highland Park neighborhood wouldn’t allow them because that was a loooooong stretch with nothing - no music, no real cheerleaders, nothing.
Here’s the map of the run:
The only real thing I had issues with was that we were told the roads were shut down for us. Towards the end, and yes, I know I was running toward the way back of the pack, they stopped US to let traffic go through an intersection! The cop didn’t act serious when he held his hand up to us and said “Wait.” I kept walking, looking at him and said “Seriously?” ”Yes, seriously.” I didn’t stop. And neither did one of the girls I was with. We didn’t get hit but did have to wait for our 3rd, as she’s nicer than us and did stop. There were a few other intersections where they were letting cars through, but only when there were large enough breaks in the runners, not making us stop for them.
Here’s the Garmin breakdown:
The official time on the Competitor site:
And the only real picture my mom got at the finish line:
Aren’t I just so cute, shoving my mouth full of mini bagel? LOL She said right after this the battery died on her. Oh well, there will be official photos.
Edit:
Oh, I forgot to tell about after!
We went back to the room and, following Robin’s sage advice, I got in an ice bath. HO-LY cow! My legs were already cold from the temperature never getting above 50 the whole race, and the water by itself was chilly. But then my mom brought me a trashcan (small one) full of ice and I put it in and even with the sweatshirt, my whole body shivered. I could watch my thighs jump on their own trying to warm up. I stayed in about 15 minutes then got out. Jumped in the bed and tried to warm up. Took a couple hour nap and we went foraging for food. We were going to repeat lunch from Saturday, but Luigi’s wasn’t open. :( So, we ended up at IHOP. I took a couple Tylenol there for a slight headache that was building and then took Motrin when we got back to the room. A hot shower with the massage feature on and back to bed for the night.
When I got up this morning, I could move. I could really really move. Getting up and down off the toilet no-longer required an act of god, and walking wasn’t anywhere near the drama it had been 12 hours before. Whether it was the Tylenol and Motrin or the ice bath, I don’t know, but that’ll be the combination used from here on out!
So now, the hard stuff starts. Next Monday, full marathon training starts.
Eek.
